TaskStream Submissions of Course Signature Assignments Now Required!

1. What is TaskStream and why are we using it?

TaskStream (www.taskstream.com) is a customizable, electronic portfolio, assessment management and performance based instruction tool. For National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) college accreditation, as well as Special Education Student Portfolio evaluation purposes, specific student assignments (Signature Assignments) are to be evaluated based on a faculty developed rubric associated with the CEC Standard(s) addressed by each assignment.

The electronic submission of the Signature Assignments to TaskStream serves two purposes. First, it serves as a college accreditation data collection and storage site, as instructors evaluate each student’s Signature Assignment in connection with the NCATE performance based outcomes. The NCATE outcomes incorporate the CEC standards for special education teachers. George Mason University’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) must collect this data every semester. Therefore, EVERY student taking an EDSE course IS REQUIRED to upload and submit their assignment to TaskStream for evaluation (even if only one or two courses is being taken for professional recertification, as an elective, or part of an undergraduate minor).

Second, it provides a platform for those Special Education students seeking their MEd degree and/or licensure to build an electronic portfolio for EDSE 791 (Midpoint Portfolio) and EDSE 792 (Final Portfolio).

After each student submits their Signature Assignments to TaskStream, instructional faculty will use a 3 point rubric, separate from their individual grading rubrics (viewable on TaskStream), to jury individual electronic submissions.

2. Which instructor receives and evaluates which assignment?

Any student taking an EDSE course during the current semester is required to submit their Signature Assignment to that course’s instructor via TaskStream for evaluation.

3. When taking Midpoint Portfolio

Any student taking Midpoint or Final Portfolio during the current semester is required to submit their Student Selected Artifacts and Intro Narrative to the Midpoint or Final Portfolio instructor via TaskStream for evaluation.

In addition, students must at that time ensure that they have Signature Assignments posted to TaskStream for all EDSE courses that they have taken.

Signature Assignments (or approved alternatives) and completed prior to the implementation of TaskStream (Fall 2007) will be submitted to the student’s Midpoint Portfolio instructor for evaluation.

Signature Assignments (or approved alternatives) completed after the implementation of TaskStream (Fall 2007) should be submitted to the instructor of that course for evaluation, not to the Portfolio instructor.

4. Following Midpoint Portfolio and prior to Final Portfolio

Students will continue to submit their Signature Assignments to the instructor of those courses in which they complete the assignment.

Students may continue to upload Student Selected Artifacts to TaskStream, but will not be able to submit them to an instructor for evaluation until they have determined who their instructor for Final Portfolio will be.

Once they are successfully registered in Final Portfolio, students can go in and finish the process by submitting the uploaded Student Selected Artifacts to their Final Portfolio instructor for evaluation.

5. When taking Final Portfolio

Any student who completed Midpoint Portfolio prior to the implementation of TaskStream (Fall 2007) may choose to complete their portfolio on paper (3 ring binder format) or electronically on TaskStream. However, regardless of their choice, for NCATE data collection purposes, students are still required to submit all Signature Assignments for any EDSE course taken from Fall 2007 forward (this also includes their Intro Narratives for Midpoint and Final Portfolio).

Any student who completes Midpoint Portfolio from Fall 2007 forward must complete their portfolio electronically. By the time they get to Final Portfolio, student’s portfolios should contain a minimum of 10 assignments (Signature Assignments and Student Selected Artifacts) that have already been evaluated by their course instructors as well as their Midpoint Portfolio instructor.

Students will submit an additional 10 Student Selected Artifacts, as well as their completed Intro Narrative, via TaskStream to their Final Portfolio instructor. The Final Portfolio instructor will evaluate these 10 Student Selected Artifacts, the Intro Narrative, and will review the student’s portfolio as a whole to complete the Portfolio Evaluation process.

6. What happens if a student submits their assignment to the wrong instructor for evaluation?

If a student submits their work the wrong instructor/evaluator by mistake, they will need to contact the instructor/evaluator that it was submitted to directly and request that it is returned to them for resubmission to the proper instructor/evaluator.

7. Where can students find the most up-to-date information and usage instructions for TaskStream?

All of the most up-to-date usage instructions for TaskStream are here on the Special Education website (below under “Condensed TaskStream Instructions for Student/Authors”).

Additionally, this same information is on the Cohort Blackboard site:
http://gmucommunity.blackboard.com/
(Login: cohort, Password: cohort)

It is also distributed via the Special Education listserv to your Mason e-mail account every semester (details on locating your Mason e-mail address are below under item Number 8).

Or feel free to contact Emily Gibson, TaskStream Administrator for the Special Education Program, with any problems or questions at egibson5@gmu.edu.

Lastly, you may contact the TaskStream Help Desk for assistance at any time at 1-800-311-5656.

8. Glossary of Common TaskStream Terms & Mason E-mail/G Number Info.

DRF: Direct Response Folio (aka Special Education Portfolio in TaskStream). This where students find their courses and will upload and submit their assignments for evaluation in TaskStream.

Author: Student submitting assignments via TaskStream for evaluation.

Evaluator: Instructor evaluating submitted assignments via TaskStream.

Signature Assignment (aka Required Artifacts): A specific required assignment, presentation or project, determined by the Mason Special Education Faculty, which best demonstrates one or more of the ten Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) standard(s) connected to each course. While used as part of a student’s Midpoint and/or Final Portfolio, it serves a dual purpose for NCATE data collection.

Student Selected Assignments/Artifacts: These are assignments freely chosen by the student (as opposed to being the specific required assignment or “Signature Assignment” above) for their Midpoint and/or Final Portfolio that best demonstrate one or more of the ten CEC standards connected to each course.

To Find Mason E-mail Address and/or G Number: Click on the link below to you’re your Mason e-mail address and/or G Number (aka Mason student ID number). You will login using your social security number and 6-digit PIN. The 6-digit PIN is initially set as the MMDDYY of your birthday. If further assistance is needed with finding your Mason e-mail or G Number, contact the ITU Support Center directly at 703-993-8870.

http://chimera.gmu.edu/gnum/prod/index.cgi

Please Note

Along with their Winter ’08 upgrade in mid February, TaskStream will end support for Internet Explorer 5.x, AOL below version 9, and ALL versions of Netscape.

In addition, browser support for Macs will no longer include any version of Internet Explorer, Netscape or AOL.

PC users can access TaskStream with the following supported browsers:

Internet Explorer 6.0 and above
AOL 9.0 and above
Firefox 1.5 and above

Mac OS X users can access TaskStream with the following supported browsers:

Firefox 1.5 and above
Safari 1.3 and above

If you are a Mac OS 9 user we recommend that you upgrade to Mac OS X in order to use one of the supported browsers. If upgrading your operating system is not possible, please contact Mentoring Services at 1-800-311-5656 or help@taskstream.com for additional assistance.

Condensed TaskStream Instructions for Student/Authors

Please see the three phases below for students to follow when using TaskStream (coinciding step-by-step instructions are attached - please print them all out and follow the instructions in their entirety for each of the three phases). Be sure to note that there is an alternate step to take if you have been having issues with logging in (but please follow the instructions for Phase 1 before contacting anyone about the alternate route).

Also note that you will be using your Mason e-mail address as your login ID! (If you have ever been enrolled in at least one GMU course, then you have a Mason e-mail address, as well as a Mason Student ID Number, called a "G Number". Instructions for obtaining both are at the bottom of this section).

Phase 1 of 3 - Creating your account (Username & Password): TaskStream Log-in for GMU Students
*Phase 1a - If Phase 1 yields a response from TaskStream that a student does not exist in the TS system, please contact Emily Gibson at egibson5@gmu.edu. She will provide you with an alternate set of instructions.

Phase 2 of 3 -Self-enrollment into the Special Education Portfolio in TaskStream (where students go in TaskStream to find their courses and to submit work): Student Self Enrollment Instructions. THIS PROCESS WILL ONLY NEED TO BE DONE THE FIRST TIME A STUDENT LOGS IN – ONCE A STUDENT HAS SELF-ENROLLED INTO THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PORTFOLIO IN TASKSTREAM, IT WILL NOT NEED TO BE DONE AGAIN.

Phase 3 of 3 - Submitting required artifacts into the Special Education Portfolio in TaskStream: Use the attached Quick Start Guide - Author

For reference: Required Signature Assignments (condensed)

To Find Your Mason E-mail Address and/or G Number: Use the link below to find your Mason e-mail address and/or G Number (aka Mason Student ID Number). You will log in using your social security number and 6-digit PIN. The 6-digit PIN is initially set as the MMDDYY of your birthday. If further assistance is needed with finding your Mason e-mail or G Number, contact the ITU Support Center directly at 703-993-8870.

http://chimera.gmu.edu/gnum/prod/index.cgi

The use of your Mason e-mail account is MANDATORY. We cannot be expected to keep track of each student's many different personal e-mail accounts. All communication regarding coursework and TaskStream will come through your Mason e-mail account (you do have the option of forwarding your Mason e-mail to any of your personal e-mail account(s) - instructions are below).
Once you obtain your Mason e-mail address (above), you will need to activate your account. Access the Mason e-mail system by logging into: https://mail.gmu.edu. In order to activate your account, click on "Activating My Account" and follow the instructions. If you've already activated your account, but can't recall what your password is, click on "I Forgot My Password" and follow the instructions. If you're having any technical difficulties with your e-mail account, click on "Support Center" or call 703-993-8870. Only the ITU Support Center can help you with technical issues regarding your Mason e-mail account.

To forward messages from your Mason e-mail account to one or more of your personal accounts, log in to the mail system as you would above. In the tool bar click "Options". In the menu bar on the left click "Settings". At the bottom you'll find "Mail Forwarding". Enter the address(es) you'd like e-mails forwarded to and then click "Save Changes" Be sure to send yourself some test messages and make certain any messages coming from your Mason account don't get placed into your spam or bulk folders. It is your responsibility to make sure the function works properly and to maintain your Mason e-mail account to ensure it doesn’t become too full or “over quota” which will stop any incoming messages from being received by your account. If you find you're having any problems, as before, contact the ITU Support Center at 703-993-3670.

Instructions for Faculty:

Brief TS Overview for SPED Instructors

Step 1) Creating your new Faculty/Evaluator account in TaskStream, i.e., your login and password: TaskStream Key Code for GMU Faculty

Step 2) Notify Emily Gibson at egibson5@gmu.edu once you have successfully logged into TaskStream using your new login and password. She will then enroll you as an Evaluator into the Special Education Portfolio in TaskStream. This will give you access to your student's submitted work.

Step 3) Once Emily Gibson has enrolled you as an Evaluator into the Special Education Portfolio, follow the instructions on how to access and evaluate work that has been submitted to you: Quick Start Guide - Evaluator

Special Education Syllabus Wording

The signature assignment required for this course must be submitted electronically to Mason’s NCATE management system, TaskStream: (https://www.taskstream.com).
Note: Every student registered for any EDSE course as of the Fall 2007 semester is required to begin submitting signature assignments to TaskStream (regardless of whether a course is an elective or part of an undergraduate minor). TaskStream information is available at http://gse.gmu.edu/programs/sped/. Failure to submit the assignment to TaskStream may result in reporting the course grade as Incomplete (IN).